Circumferential air discharge construction for suction cleaners



April 10, 1956 P. w. CHERRY 2,741,329 CIRCUMFERENTIAL AIR DISCHARGE CONSTRUCTION FOR sucnon CLEANERS Filed Jan. :50, 1952 Inventor Peter W Cherry H15 Attorneg.

United dtates atent 3;

ClRCUIl/IFERENTEAL AE DESCHARGE CO1 STRUCTKON FOR SUQ'HON CLEANERS Peter W. Cherry, Monroe, Conn, assignor to Electric Company, a corporation of New York My invention relates to suction cleaners of the so-called vertical tank or canister type and to a construction for obtaining an air discharge passageway or slot surrounding the entire circumference of the cleaner body. More particularly, my invention is concerned with improvements in the configuration and assembly of elements used in building the body of the cleaner whereby improved appearance, low cost of manufacture, added strength and superior performance of the cleaner are obtained.

In an application for United States Letters Patent, Serial No. 191,034, filed on October 19, 1950, now Patent No. 2,605,858, granted August 5, 1952, by Henry T. Lang, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, there is shown and claimed a construction for a suction cleaner including an arrangement for obtaining a substantially circumferential air discharge around the body of the cleaner for the purpose of diffusing the exhaust. This application, which resulted in l atent 2,605,858, which has been reissued as Patent Re. 23,852, is a continuation-in-part of an earlier application, now Patent 2,539,195, issued January 23, 1951, in which the circumferential discharge arrangement was first shown. The present invention is an improvement upon the air discharge construction shown and claimed in the patents above identified.

One object of my invention is to provide a structure whereby a completely circumferential air discharge slot around the body of a suction cleaner will be obt ined.

Another object of my invention is to provide such structure in an inexpensive fashion which will be easy to manufacture and to assemble. A further object of my invention is to make such construction which will be strong and which will furthermore provide a support for the motor and fan unit.

In a cleaner according to my invention, the body of the cleaner will be free from most surfaces on which dust might collect, and all possible dust collecting surfaces will be formed so as to be easy to clean by simply wiping them off. Improved appearance of the cleaner body will be another result of a cleaner made according to my invention.

The objects of my invention generally will be met by making the cleaner of two principal sections or parts, one of them a cup-shaped base member and the other of them a stepped-out main body member with a bottom section or end of smaller transverse size than the base but of greater depth, and an upper portion of substantially the same transverse size as the base, with an air passageway through the smaller size body portion Which is seated within and secured to the base.

Other objects and further details of that which I believe to be novel in my invention will be clear from the following description and claims taken with the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated an example of suction cleaner body embodying the present invention and incorporating the two principal sections or portions generally described above.

In the drawing, the single figure is a side elevation view clarity in illustration.

A cleaner according to my invention is generally sym-,

metrical about a central axis and may be and preferably is of a substantially cylindrical form. At the top of the cleaner there is an approximate inlet fitting 1 adapted to be connected to a suction hose which is not shown, which in turn is connected to appropriate suction cleaning attachments or tools. This inlet is in a cover 2 at the top of the cleaner and the cover is held in place as by suitable clamps 3 to the main body portion 4 of the cleaner. This main body portion or member is of hollow, cylindrical form and has an outside greatest dimension of a diameter or size suitable to contain the interior parts.

Inside of the cleaner body are the usual dust filter or bag 5 which is supported as by a perforated motor shield and bag support 6 above a motor 7 which drives a fan 8 to produce a flow of air which passes first through the fitting 1, through the bag 5 where the air is filtered, then through the bag support and motor shield 6, through the motor 7, through the fan 8 and is discharged through openings 9 in or near the bottom of the fan casing.

It is desired that the air discharged from the fan openings be spread around the entire perimeter of the cleaner body, not only to diffuse the air which is being exhausted from the cleaner, but also to raise this difiused exhaust well above the level of the floor 19 or other supporting surface upon which the cleaner may rest. in order to provide the desired construction I have used a substantially cup-shaped base member 11 having an open end of substantially the same outside diameter as the greatest outside diameter of the main body portion. Like the main body portion, the base is hollow and is substantially cylindrical. Obviously, however, the circular cross-section of the base may be interrupted as by a depression '12 which may receive a pivoted treadle 13 and house a spring 14 surrounding a plunger 15 for operating a switch 16. This switch is connected as by a cord set, a portion 17 of which is shown, and the switch is wired to the motor 7 in suitable fashion for turning the suction cleaner on or off as occasion may require.

Connecting the main body or member 4 to the base and supporting the main body portion is a projecting end 18 on the main hollow cylindrical body, this projecting end being of reduced diameter compared to the top section and of substantially less diameter than that of the cupshaped base. In the construction shown, this projecting end is in the form of an additional smaller cup secured as by rivets 19 to a reduced diameter 2%} which is integral with the main body portion 4. The reduced portion 26 is joined to the main body portion by the radially inwardly extending web or flange 21.

The projecting end 18 on the main body portion is seated centrally on the bottom of the inside of the cupshaped base 11 and is secured thereto as by the machine screws 22. This projecting end is of greater length than the depth of the base 11 and therefore when the parts are secured together a slot 23 is formed between the main cylindrical body 4 and the cup-shaped base 11, this slot extending around the entire circumference of the cleaner body. in order to avoid dust collecting edges or sharp corners, the top edge of the base may be inwardly turned or flanged as at 24 throughout its entire circumference excepting where interrupted by the depression 12 and the top of the treadle 13. Naturally, this flanged edge is not extended inwardly to a diameter as small as the diameter of the projecting end portion 18 of the body. However, this flange or the space inside of the slot 23 may support an annular packing of loose glass wool 25 for noise suppression and air filtering, if desired.

Air passing out of the openings 9 of the fan 8 will Patented Apr. 10, 6

, thoseskilled in the art.

' firstbe distributed in the space surrounding the fan but within-theprojecting end 18. From that place air escapes through a passageway 26 extending through the wall of the projecting end, and. air will then enter an annular 'space 27 between' the projecting 'end and the cup-shaped base; Because the space' 27' extends entirely. around.

the cleaner, the air will be. difised and will ultimately removable door atshown in Lang Patent Re. 23,852 for connection :of blowing tools.

Suitable provision may be made for supporting the motor and fan unit and other parts within the. cleaner, the support here being shown in the form 'of a double stepped portion 28 extending inwardly from the bodymember, supporting a resilient mounting ring and gasket 29 which engages a flange 30 on the motor-fan unit assembly. The bag support and motor shield 6 may be secured to this stepped portion 28 as by machine screws 31, the bottom of the bag support holding the resilient mounting ring 29 in place when the screws 31 are secured.

As shown, the body and base portions may be made of sheetmetal, which is readily drawn, spun, or otherwise formed into the desired shapes. Other materials might be used if strong enough and easy enough to manipulate in manufacture.

As will be evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of my invention are not limited to the particular details of construction of the example illustrated and I contemplate that various and other modifications' and applications of the invention will occur to It is, therefore, my intention that the appended claims shall cover such modifications and applications as do not depart from the true spirit and scope of my invention.

'What, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United-States is:

1. A vertical, tank type, suction cleaner casing comprising a main body member and a base member, said main body member comprising a hollow, outer, cylindrical portion, a substantially radially inwardly projecting web integral with said portion, and a projecting hollow 'to, said projecting end having an opening therein for placing the interior of said projecting end into communication with the resultant annular space between the projecting end and the base member, said web being spaced above said inwardly turned edge and cooperating therewith to form a substantially continuous, annular slot, said space communicating with said slot to thereby place said space into communication with the atmosphere throughout substantially the entire circumference of the cleaner casing. 2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein an annular packing of noise suppression and air filtering material is disposed adjacent said slot and supported by said inwardly turned edge. 9

References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS (Addition to No. 623,781) 

